Digitisation

Although the majority of the Hungarian adult population, small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies have digital devices (e.g. smartphones, desktop PCs, laptops) and services (mobile internet, fixed internet subscription) integrating artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, and the majority regularly use AI-based online services, only one in four residential and one in three corporate users claimed to be more or explicitly informed in this field—according to research conducted by Századvég Konjunktúrakutató's Digital Business Unit in the first half of 2024.

While the weight of the Hungarian digital economy in terms of value added (GVA) has stagnated at around 18% of the GVA in the national economy in recent years, its weight in employment has increased by more than a quarter since the previous survey. In total, the digital economy provided direct or indirect livelihoods for around 935,000 employees in 2022, representing 19.9% of the Hungarian workforce in that year. A technology-driven development path could provide a further powerful boost to the Hungarian digital economy, increasing its GVA generation capacity by nearly HUF 1,500 billion by 2030, which would put Hungary among the most technologically advanced countries in the European Union—finds the research conducted in cooperation between Századvég and IVSZ on behalf of the Ministry for National Economy in the summer of 2024.

The number of mobile internet users is growing significantly in Hungary year after year, both among residential and business users, and more and more of them are switching to 5G technology. The social perception of 5G, previously surrounded by many negative beliefs, has also improved significantly in recent years, with users overwhelmingly reporting neutral or positive impressions, according to a survey conducted by the Digital Business Unit of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató in the first half of 2024.

The circular economy, which has so far been understood primarily in the context of sustainability and climate protection, is increasingly becoming integrated into the efficiency and competitiveness considerations of national economies and businesses, making the extent to which the relevant actors apply digital solutions a critical factor, revealed the research project of the Digital Business Unit of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató at the end of 2023.

The industrial strategies of the world’s leading industrial economies, as well as those of the European countries that stand out in terms of industrial output, have in common that there is a clear technological focus in the assessment of the situation, the setting of priorities and targets, and the toolbox: challenges, targets and proposed measures are essentially examined and defined in terms of digital technology opportunities, according to research conducted by the Digital Business Unit of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató at the end of 2023.

There is a global consensus on the vital role of water in the proper functioning of ecological, social and economic systems, and it is therefore a priority to ensure the widest possible uptake of modern digital technologies across the water utilities sector, from water resource protection to water services. A research conducted by the Digital Business Unit of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató at the end of 2023 revealed that the essential prerequisite for the penetration of these solutions is the mainstreaming of digitisation aspects in resource allocation, investment and development decisions, as well as in the economical and conscious industrial and residential user practices.

The global technological transformation, the dynamic expansion of digitisation and automation, demographic changes, the COVID-19 pandemic and, in line with these, the increasing use of flexible and atypical forms of employment are fundamentally changing the future of work, and consequently the labour market expectations for individual jobs. Among the related labour market expectations, there is an increasing emphasis on so-called transversal skills, i.e. competences (e.g. autonomous learning, collaboration, critical thinking, digital competences, etc.), that allow for quick and flexible adaptation to the changing world of work. A survey conducted by the Digital Division of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató in the third quarter of 2022 and the first half of 2023 among employers and employees, as well as the general population, on expectations regarding future jobs revealed that, although with different emphases, both employers and employees in Hungary considered these skills to be the most important for future success.